Kingdom Hearts III: War of Darkness
by Pyro Vampiress
Summary: Takes place a year after KH2. Sora, Riku, and Kairi are back on Destiny Islands. All is going well until Riku is sent a letter from the trio's friend Yuffie. Trouble has returned. Cloud is badly wounded and Leon is missing. A new war begins.
1. Riku Troubled

Sora, now sixteen years old, walked through the woods of Destiny Islands. He was humming to himself and had his hands clasped behind his head, his elbows sticking out. It was a nice day, and he was to meet Kairi in a little nook that was right by a tree with a glowing star. This star was one that needed to be touched in a race that Sora and Riku used to have before returning back to where they started.

Sora exited the woods and climbed onto a rock that jutted out from the stone wall. He hopped from rock to rock, landing on the one that the unique little tree was. He chuckled slightly to himself, then touched the star before climbing into the nook, making it glow. He saw Kairi sitting in their, leaning against the wall.

"Hey," Sora said, sitting down against the wall opposite her. It was cool in here, a nice reprieve from the hot sun outside.

"Hi," Kairi smiled. It was a somewhat strained smile though, Sora noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" frowned Sora. He began to wonder worriedly if Kairi was breaking up with him. They had been dating for the past five months and Sora was enjoying it immensely.

"Riku," Kairi answered quietly. "I think something's bothering him, but I can't figure it out."

"Do you think….because of us?" Sora said slowly.

Kairi shook her head. "I don't think so. I mean, I know he cares about me and loves me, but I don't think it's in that kind of way. Don't think I've never noticed the way you two used to compete all the time, sometimes for me. I could see that, and it bothered me. However," she sighed, "I think Riku only competed with you about me because he just loved to compete with you, no matter what it was for. I think…I think the kind of love he has for me has always been different than the kind that you've always had. I think of him as a big brother, you know? The same kind of way Tidus and Selphie think about Wakka."

"So, what do you think we should do?" Sora questioned.

"I think you should talk to him."

"Me?" Sora raised his eyebrows. "I don't know, Kairi. I'm not good at this kind of stuff."

"Sure you are. Listen, Sora, I've tried talking to him, but he won't tell me what's bothering him. I'm just thinking that maybe for him, it would be easier if he talked to another guy, not a girl."

Sora ran a hand through his spiky brown hair. He and Riku had mostly grown out the competitiveness they had had with each other, but there was one thing about Riku that Sora still envied, and it was his hair. Not that he could picture himself with Riku's hair instead of his own without laughing, but Sora still wished he could have been born with a cooler set of locks like Riku. He sighed, nodded, and stood up, staying a little hunched over so that he did not hit his head on the roof of the alcove.

"Do you know where he is?" Sora asked as he stooped out of the nook.

"The pier by the boats," Kairi answered, picking up a conch shell and decorating it with pretty jewels.

"That for Selphie's birthday?"

"Yeah. I guess I've always been into making nice things out of ocean life."

Sora grinned as he jumped from the sandy rock to a treetop.

He found Riku a few minutes later sitting on the edge of the pier. His legs were dangling down from it and only hung a few short inches from the ocean waves. He had gotten quite tall. Sora walked down the pier and sat next to him, letting his own legs dangle. They were not as close to the water as Riku's feet were, but they were still closer than they were before Sora was forced off of Destiny Islands to be the bearer of the Keyblade.

"Hi, Riku," Sora said, being careful not to sound too cheerful in case it made Riku not take him seriously enough to tell him what was wrong.

"Hey," Riku muttered, gazing out into the seas. Sora tried to read the expression on his face without making it look like he was staring at Riku, but found that it just looked pensive, if anything.

"You all right?" Sora tried. Riku just nodded. Sora could tell he was definitely upset about something. He could always tell with Riku, but Riku had never liked having people worry about him, and was bound to try to keep whatever was bothering him inside. Sora looked out at the ocean. "I think you're lying," he said lightly.

"And if I am, what business of it is yours?" Riku responded, still gazing straight ahead.

"Because I'm your friend, and friends tell each other when they're not all right."

Sora could feel Riku turn his head to look at him, but Sora stayed focused on looking straight ahead of him.

"So you're saying that whenever I'm unhappy, I should just come crying to you about it, huh?"

Sora looked at him. They were staring each other in the eyes. Though the rest of his face was inscrutable, it was Riku's eyes that gave away his emotions to Sora, who saw a mixture of both fiery anger, and empty sadness.

"Riku, you can always talk to me…about anything," Sora said, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. Riku looked back out at the ocean.

"I don't complain," he said softly. "Complaining leads to self pity."

"Confiding to your best friend about your problems isn't complaining."

"Then what is it?" snapped Riku, jerking his gaze back to Sora.

"It's not called anything, just…friendship." Sora waited a few seconds before asking what he did not want to ask. "Is it about me and Kairi?"

Riku gave a short laugh. "Nah. That actually makes me happy. I've been waiting for the day you guys would hook up. No, it has nothing to do with that."

Sora felt a little relieved. He could tell that Riku was sincere about that, but if that was not what was on his mind, then what was?

"Will you tell me? I promise not to tell anyone," Sora said hopefully.

"And Kairi? You won't tell her?" Riku smirked. Sora did not say anything to that. He would have to tell Kairi. It was her that had wanted him to talk to Riku in the first place. Riku, seeming to have guessed the answer to his question, gave another brusque laugh. "That's what I thought."

"How come Kairi can't know? She even told me she thinks of you as a big brother, and I know you think of her as a little sister. She's smart, Riku. The next time something's bothering her, she'll make sure not to tell you, and if she tells me, then I won't tell you either."

Riku looked concerned. "Do you mean that?"

"Yes, which is why you should talk to me." Sora gave Riku a stern kind of look that made him laugh.

"You look like my mom when she catches me sneaking cookie dough." He sighed, and looked down at the area of pier between his knees. "Sora, I got a letter. It…it was from Yuffie."

"Yu-Yuffie?" Sora said incredulously. He found his heart leap for a moment in excitement, but then drop right back down. Wait a minute, he thought. This had something to do with what was bothering Riku, so it could not be good. "What's up?"

"Well," Riku said quietly, "Leon's been…..captured."

"Captured!" Sora exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "By who? Is he okay? What's going on?"

"Relax a second so I can tell you. You see, I guess trouble's been brewing a while in Hol-I mean, Radiant Garden. A new, different kind of evil's been born by someone there, but they don't know who it is. All they know is that they got a letter from Mickey, saying that the same kinds of things have been happening at Disney Castle as well, only worse and more quickly. They got another letter from Mickey saying that they were keeping themselves locked into the castle, but they were being attacked by a foreign army of some kind. The castle's own army was standing outside the castle and doing their best to stop this evil army from breaching their walls, but they were not having success. So, of course, Leon and Cloud left to help them immediately. They were both there when the letter arrived, and as soon as they finished reading it, they left without telling anyone else, just leaving the letter."

"So what happened?" asked Sora anxiously.

"Well," Riku sighed, "they got there. Leon and Cloud both ended up being a big help, and for a moment, it looked like they were going to win." Riku put his face in his hands and shook his head. "But they didn't. Reinforcements for the foreign army arrived in about twenty Gummi ships. King Mickey saw what was happening out the window, and he led everyone in the castle to a secret launch room where they had everyone flee to Traverse Town. As for Leon and Cloud, well, Leon took a hit from behind and was knocked unconscious, and they began to drag him away. Cloud tried to go after him, but got heavily injured. The only thing Cloud could do was crawl towards the ship that he and Leon had taken to get there. The foreign army had left, apparently only wanting one captive. Besides, it looked to Cloud as if he was going to die anyway. He passed out on the floor of the ship, but regained consciousness. He flew back to Radiant Garden the best he could and told the others what happened. Yuffie says Cloud should be all right, but he's hurt really badly and won't be able to fight for a while. As for Leon…well, they don't know where exactly he is."

Sora slowly sat back down, thinking about everything he had taken in. He suddenly turned to Riku angrily.

"Why would you keep something like this from me?" he interrogated. "They're just as much my friends as they are yours."

"That's not why I kept it from you," Riku whispered. "I kept it from you because…because they think I can help."

"Who?"

"Yuffie and the gang. They say there's something only I have that I can use to help Leon. I wrote back saying I'd come."

"When?"

Riku faced his best friend. "Early tomorrow morning."

"Well, I'm coming with you!" Sora said.

"You know you will have to tell Kairi. I figured there was nothing I'd be able to do to stop you, considering how stubborn you are. That's why I didn't say anything. I don't want you two to worry about me, because I've got a feeling this is going to be dangerous. I will not lose my best friends. You two have already almost been killed before."

"So have you, Riku," Sora said quietly.

"They don't want you involved, Sora. Neither do I. This one's up to me, and if you guys come along to help, you'll die for nothing."

"You know more than you're telling me," Sora said sharply.

"Yeah, I do." Riku stood up, and began to walk back up the pier. "I need to go pack. Stay, Sora! I'll go to your parents if that's what it takes to keep you here."

"I don't want you to die!" Sora called after him, his voice cracking.

"Goodbye, Sora."


	2. The Departure

Author's note: Thank you very much to the two people that reviewed. I really appreciate it. It would mean a lot to me if more of you would review. I'd like to know what you think of the story. I know this chapter and the first one may not be terribly exciting, but there will be more action as the story progresses. If you like battles, there is going to be a big battle closer to the end of the story. Well, happy reading and PLEASE review! Reviews make me happy.

After Riku had walked away, Sora had taken his place sitting at the end of the pier. He was deep in thought, coming to a decision of what to do about Riku. There was no way he was going to stay here like a good boy and let Riku save his friends by himself.

"So," Kairi's voice said from behind him, "did you find out what was bothering Riku?"

"Well," Sora hesitated. He had decided to go after Riku tomorrow morning, but he wanted Kairi to be safe, so he lied. "No. He wouldn't tell me."

Kairi sighed. "Thanks for trying, anyway. Well, I'm gonna go to bed; I'm tired. Good night, Sora." Sora stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

"Good night, Kairi," he said softly. "I…I love you."

"I love you too," Kairi smiled, letting go of Sora.

He watched her walk away before going to bed himself.

Not knowing what time Riku was leaving at, Sora set his alarm clock for four in the morning. Once it did go off, Sora forced himself out of bed. He looked out his bedroom window where he could see the island he spent so much time on. After returning from their last journey, Sora and Riku had built a Gummi garage. The two of them and Kairi had each built their own ship, just in case they ever needed to leave again. From his window, Sora had an okay view of the garage, the doors of which were still closed. That told him that Riku had not left yet.

Sora got dressed in the clothes that Flora, Fauna, and Merriwether, the three fairies, had made specially for him. Even after a year, they still fit fine, which made Sora figure that they adjusted themselves to fit his body. He began to pack for his next journey, checking out the window at intercals to make sure Riku was not at the garage yet. Sora put all items he had leftover from his previous journey into a bag, along with some other things.

After checking outside the window one more time, Sora left his room and snuck quietly downstairs. He longed to enter his parens' bedroom to say goodbye, but he doubted he could do it without awakening them. He crept silently through the dark kitchen, heading for the living room, where the front door was.

"So you really are leaving?" a voice said shakily. Sora jumped, startled, and looked around the kitchen. His heart sank. His mother was sitting at the kitchen table. He could not see the expression on her face, so he turned on a light.

Sora's mother sat there in her nightgown, staring sadly at her son.

"How did you know?" Sora asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

"Riku told me before you cam home earlier. At first, I tried to convince him not to go, but he told me he was a lost cause. Said he was impervious to my persuasion." She gave a hollow laugh. "He said, though, that I might be able to convince you to stay. Will you?"

"Mom," Sora sighed, "I'm needed in other worlds."

"no, Riku is this time, not you. Sora, you were gone for over a year. I had no idea where you were and I spent over a year wondering if you were still alive! When you came back, I breathed again. I am _not_ letting you go on any more journeys. I can't lose you. I won't!"

Sora pained as he saw his mother's eyes sparkling. He found himself tempted to say screw it and stay, but instinct told him he was needed elsewhere. He shook his head and walked around the table, embracing his mother in a tight hug. After a few minutes, Sora pulled away.

"I have to go," he said.

"What can I do to stop you?" whispered his mother.

"Nothing. My help is needed by others, Mom. I may be able to save lives. I have a feeling that if I don't go, we will all be in danger, but if I do go, I can probably help stop it."

"When did you become so brave?" Sora's mother asked with a sobbing laugh. She sighed. "My little boy's leaving to go fight the monsters of the world."

"Not just our world, but all worlds." Sora gave a strained smile. "You know I have to go. Let me, okay?"

"Yes, but please, do your best to be safe."

"I'll try, Mom. Tell Dad I said bye for me. I love you." Withouth another word, Sora walked out of the kitchen and his house. Once he had shut the front door, he leaned against it and pressed his fingers against his eyes. After a moment, he walked over to his boat and rowed over to the island the way he had done so many times before.

The garage door was still closed. Sora pulled his boat onto the land and hid it in the secret cave, then hid himself under the pier. After another hour and a half, Riku came rowing over in his boat. He tied the boat to the pier, then walked over to the Gummi garage and opened it. Sora crept out from under the pier and climbed a palm tree so that he was in closer range of Riku, but out of sight. There sat the three ships. Sora's was in the middle, Riku's on the left, Kairi's on the right. Sora's ship had a large blue S on the front. Riku's had a large black R and Kairi's had a large red K. Sora watched his friend search the garage and all three ships for stowaways before loading his things into his own ship. After doing do, he put his hand on the ship and looked out to the sea. The sun had begun to rise and it cast a weird light on the ocean.

"Goodbye, Sora," Riku said softly. "Goodbye, Kairi." He got in the ship. Sora took the time Riku spent turning the Gummi ship on and pressing the appropriate buttons to climb down the tree and sneak into the garage. He sneakily peered into the cockpit window to read Riku's navigation settings. These told Sora that Riku's destination was Radiant Garden. That was where Sora had guessed to go in the first place. He crept over to his own ship and hid beneath it. After another moment, he heard the roar of the engine as Riku's ship rose into the air and left the island with dazzling speed.

Sora rolled out from under his own ship and loaded his things into it. He climbed in himself, then began to punch in all the different settings. Like Riku, he would go to Radiant Garden, but he would go by a quicker route. Having done a lot more traveling via Gummi ship than Riku, Sora knew many more routes to various worlds. As long as he left now, Sora could arrive at Radiant Garden a good twenty minutes before Riku did. That would give him enough time to find the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee members and convince them to let him help before Tiku showed up. Sora knew that if Yuffie, Aerith, Merlin, Cid, and Tifa would agree to Sora staying that Riku would have to agree, even if reluctantly, as well. He would not want to waste time arguing when more important things needed to be done.

Sora sped off of the island and high into the sky in a flash. Soaring through the starry air, he did not look back.

About an hour after Sora had left, another ship showed up on his radar. He raised an eyebrow. The ship was somewhere behind him and going at the same speed as Sora's. In a matter of seconds, however, it slowed down, disappearing from Sora's radar. Sora scanned the sky ahead of him. There was nothing to crash into and he had seen no other ships, the exception trailing somewhere behind him. He put the ship on autopilot, stood up, and walked to the back of the cockpit. Squinting, he could see a dot that was the other ship shrinking in the distance. Sora sat back down and went back to flying the ship himself.

Whoever it was, they must not have wanted to draw attention to themselves, but was it an ally? An enemy? A wary person that had the same questions about Sora?

"Shit!" Sora cursed, pounding his fist on the dashboard. He knew who it was.

He put on a headset that was connected to the control panel and pressed a button on it.

"Dammit, why are you out here?" Sora exclaimed. "Put on your headset and talk to me!"

There was a little silence, then static, then, clear as a bell-

"YOU WANT ME TO TALK TO YOU? FINE! I'LL TALK TO YOU-ABOUT _WHY_ BOYS FEEL THIS _STUPID_ NEED TO TRY TO BE SO _FRICKIN'_ NOBLE THAT THEY GO OFF TO DANGEROUS PLACES AND _LEAVE_-_THE GIRL_-**_BEHIND_**!"

Sora had jumped, then sunk in his seat as fear coursed through him. It was not the kind of fear felt before going to the guillotine. No, it was far worse: the fear kindled by the wrath of a woman.

Considering that Sora had never heard her yell like that before, he knew that Kairi must be very angry with him.


	3. A Not So Happy Reunion

Sora sat slumped in his seat for a moment, not sure what to say. There was no doubt in his mind that Kairi was mad at him. He decided to let her speak first. That way, he could not say anything that might upset her further.

There was a beeping from the radar. He looked over his shoulder to see Kairi's ship coming up quickly from behind. Sora put his ship on autopilot again and watched as Kairi settled her vessel alongside Sora's. She too put her's on autopilot and stood up. Sora followed her lead by walking over to the cockpit's side, gazing out of it at her. She stood there, lips pursed, fists clenched at her sides, and eyes blazing. Sora felt a pang as he realized that Kairi's eyes did not only blaze with anger, but hurt too.

"What is going on?" she asked roughly. Sora sighed. He was caught, no point in lying to her now.

"Well, I'm going after Riku…" He told her the whole story about what Riku had told him and how he had decided to follow. "But you see," Sora said hastily, "I didn't want you to know because I didn't want you to come along and get hurt. How'd you find me anyway?"

"I got up to go to the bathroom and I saw Riku heading towards the boats. I snuck out the window and followed him, but I rowed over to a different part of the island so he wouldn't see me. I walked back in the direction of the pier and saw you hiding in a tree. I watched to see what you guys were doing, then went in my ship after you. I realized I had gotten too close and was bound to be on your radar."

"Yeah, you were," Sora confirmed. "So…are you mad at me?"

"Yes," Kairi growled.

"But I told you, I didn't want you to get hurt."

"And isn't that what Riku said to you also?"

"Well, yeah…"

"And didn't I tell you when we were brought back together again that wherever you go, I follow?"

Sora sighed, mumbling, "Yeah."

"And did you not lie to me about Riku?"

"Yes."

"Sora, you need to realize that I'm not helpless just because I'm a girl. I can take care of myself just as well as you can."

"I know. I just…I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I want to protect you."

"And I feel the same exact way about you, Sora. So, why don't we protect each other, for once?"

Sora looked out at the stars that zoomed past his ship. They would be at Radiant Garden fairly soon now. He looked back at Kairi, who was gazing out of her ship at him with a small smile on her face.

"Okay," Sora nodded. He sat back down in his seat and resumed to fly himself. "Just follow me. We should be there in about half an hour."

Sora saw the world of Radiant Garden getting closer. He motioned at Kairi and she dropped behind him so that their ships did not crash on the landing.

After getting out of the ship, Sora looked around at the world he had been too so many times. It looked the same, but there was a definite something about it that did not feel the same.

Kairi's ship landed and she got out, walking over to Sora and looking around. Wordlessly, the two of them began to slowly walk towards the Borough, where Merlin the wizard's house was.

"There's nobody here…" Sora said, frowning. He was right. No one was in the shops. No one was in the streets. No one appeared to be anywhere. It was so quiet and empty that it made the hair on Sora's arms stand up. Something was definitely wrong here.

Sora and Kairi were almost at the Borough when a strange group of creatures appeared in front of them out of nowhere. Sora held out his hand and the keyblade materialized. He raised it into the air, ready to fight the creatures in his path. He looked at them for a moment, thinking they were Heartless. No, not Heartless. Nobodies? No, not even Nobodies. They looked like humans, but they were dark and shadowy. Their eyes were not normal either, but a glowing white, no pupils, no iris. Sora wondered what they were.

The town's defense system came into place, shooting down beams of light at the shadow creatures while Sora began to attack with his keyblade. He kept the strange creatures off of Kairi with the best of his ability, but he found these creatures harder to fight than the Heartless and Nobodies he had fought before. These beings seemed cleverer, as if actually somewhat capable of thinking for themselves.

After killing a few of them, more appeared. Sora made a noise of frustration, but continued to fight the creatures off. After killing more, another group of creatures came, just like before.

"Kairi, I think we're just going to try to escape," Sora said. "I'm having a hard time getting rid of these things and Merlin's house is near."

"Okay," Kairi said.

"Follow me." Sora knocked some of the creatures out of the way and began to run, Kairi close behind him. More creatures came. He knocked them out of the way too. They were in the Borough now. Sora continued this routine until, with relief, he spotted Merlin's house. He pulled Kairi inside and slammed the door shut behind him.

The two of them leaned against it, breathing heavily. Sora sighed, then looked around the house. Cid was sitting in the computer chair, looking at Sora and Kairi with raised eyebrows. Yuffie was sitting on the floor against the wall, staring expressionlessly in front of her, not even seeming to notice Sora and Kairi. Cloud was lying in the bed, shirtless, covered in bloodstained bandages. Aerith was sitting in a chair next to him, holding his limp hand. She had looked up when Sora and Kairi had come in.

"Why did you guys come?" Aerith asked wearily.

"We knew there was trouble here, so we thought we'd help," Sora said walking over to the table and taking a seat. "Nice to see you too."

"I'm sorry, Sora, but you should leave. You as well, Kairi," Aerith said, shaking her head.

"Why?" Sora asked indignantly. "If Riku can help, I certainly can!"

"Kid, it's a waste," Cid grunted from the computer. "You'll just die, and it won't have been worth it."

"Sora," Aerith said, looking down at the unconscious Cloud. "You see, this time is different. There is a new man of power that is after Kingdom Hearts, except this time, you won't be the one able to stop him. Riku is."

"I told him he shouldn't tell them," Yuffie muttered in a voice completely unlike her own. Usually she was cheery and hyper. Sora had never seen her so gloomy like this before. "Now they'll just go and get themselves killed playing the hero, like Leon."

"Don't say that!" Cid said reproachfully.

"Yuffie, Leon's alive. We'll find him," Aerith said reassuringly.

"Don't lie to me," Yuffie laughed hollowly. "He's probably lying dead in a cold cell somewhere. And hey, we don't even know for sure if Cloud's gonna make it."

"Stop talking like that," Cid growled. "Cloud _will_ live and we _will_ find Leon alive."

There was silence for a moment before Aerith spoke again.

"There is a power that we discovered that can defeat this man, and the only one in existence that has this power is Riku. It's not in your keyblade, Sora."

"Fine, so I may not be capable of defeating this…this guy, whoever he is, but surely I can help in other ways, right?" Sora said.

"Aerith," said Kairi quietly, "Sora and I plan on helping you guys whether you like it or not, even if it does mean risk to our lives."

"Yes, but you don't understand. The risks are higher than when Sora went to seal the keyholes and even fight Xemnas, and after all that Sora has done in the past for everyone, we just-we all would feel awful if he died for no reason."

"If I die, I would die doing something helpful, even if it's not the most important thing that can be done. It's my choice," Sora said stubbornly.

"Well, okay, I'm just…" Aerith looked sadly at Cloud again, "tired of seeing my loved ones get hurt."

They were all silent again. Cid turned back to the computer and began to type things into it.

"So, what does Riku know that I don't?" Sora asked.

"Well, he knows something that will probably make you angry."

Sora stiffened. "Such as…?"

"Well, remember Organization Thirteen?"

"How could I forget?" Sora said bitterly.

"Um, well," Aerith said hesitantly, "all the members are being restored, and this time to their own forms. They won't be Nobodies anymore. They'll be more powerful."

"But-but-I defeated most of them! The ones I didn't defeat were eliminated too. This can't be happening!" Sora put his face in his hands and Kairi stroked his back soothingly. "So all that fighting I did before was a waste?"

"No. All Nobodies that actually had a human form, not like the Dusks and things, will be restored and given their own lives. The powers they had before will remain, except stronger than before, and those that had no powers will be given some. While the new man of power will use some to do his own bidding, we know for sure that we will be able to get some to help us as well. If you had not defeated the Organization members that you eliminated, then they would have taken power of Kingdom Hearts and caused destruction all over. So, no, it was definitely not a waste."

"Who is this new man of power you keep mentioning?" Kairi asked.

"His name's Restine," Cid said gruffly, entering more things into his computer. "He has been growing famous the past nine months for his strange experimentations. He has, however, become the ultimate villain. He has dark magic powers that are especially good at destroying creatures of light: you two, Aerith, me, Cloud, Yuffie, Leon-most of the world. Basically, he is going to create an army, a large army of domination. He will use this army to stop the forces of light, and open Kingdom Hearts."

"But doesn't he need a keyblade to do that?" Sora asked. "I mean, I did seal its door after all."

"He does need a keyblade," Aerith said, "which he has."

"_What_!" Sora exclaimed. "How?"

"He created one. He uses his heart to create many things. He was born with a different heart than the rest of us. His heart is extremely powerful, and it is the only thing that can defeat him, but there is a powerful magic that protects his heart, which is why we need Riku. He is the only one that can kill this magic and kill Restine's heart, which is basically his power source."

"Why Riku, though?" Kairi asked. "How do you know it's him?"

"Well," Aerith sighed. "The only one that is capable of killing Restine needs to be a blood relative, but a relative that has been both consumed by and the victor over the Darkness. As Riku and his parents are Restine's only living blood relatives and Riku has had those experiences with the Darkness, it will be him that defeats Restine."

"So wait," Sora said, scratching his head, "Riku is related to the bad guy?"

"Only very distantly," Cid said. "I found all this out in my computer research."

"And what were those creatures that attacked us outside?" said Kairi.

"Shadows," Aerith answered sadly. "You see, Restine could take dead bodies and turn them into creatures that would do his bidding. They each look mildly like the person they were when they were alive, but they become evil and kill. They are given better fighting skills and powers by Restine, however."

"Are the Shadows the only creatures Restine will use?" said Sora.

"Nope," Cid responded. "Like we said, he'll use powerful Nobodies, but he'll also use the various types of Heartless and weaker Nobodies in his army."

"But what specifically is his ultimate goal?"

"He wants to cover the world in Darkness, because Darkness is what he thrives on," Aerith said. "If he does this, everyone of good will die, and everyone of evil will live, but under his command. He has powers like none other, though, and he can give people things they desire."

"Well, this really sucks," Kairi muttered. "You know, where's Merlin?"

"He went on an errand, but he should be back soon," Cid said.

An old man dressed in blue appeared before them in a puff of smoke.

"You called?" he said. He spotted Sora and Kairi and clutched his chest. "Oh my! What are you two doing here?"

"They're going to help," Aerith said. "Don't bother trying to dissuade them; they already have their minds made up."

Merlin smiled exasperatedly and shook his head back in forth. "Fools….young, obstinate fools."

"Tell me about it," Cid muttered.

"Merlin," Kairi said gently, "I was wondering if maybe…if maybe you could somehow give me a weapon of some kind that I could use."

"You mean like a keyblade?" Merlin asked warily.

"Anything," Kairi said.

"Well, I can give you spells, like Sora has. And I can give you a magic sword. It won't be as effective as a keyblade, but it should do all right."

"Yes, that sounds good."

"Very well then."

Merlin got Kairi set up with a magic sword that would be able to kill Dark creatures and equipped it with the same spells Sora had. He showed her the basics of how to use it before leaving again. Sora walked over to Cloud's bed.

"Will he be okay?" he asked Aerith quietly.

"Hopefully," she answered. "He has about a fifty-fifty chance. His heart is strong, however, and that should help keep him alive."

"What's wrong with him?" Sora said, surveying the cuts and gashes with the bandages. He had always known Cloud as a tough guy, but lying here injured like this, he looked vulnerable, and it gave Sora chills.

"He lost a lot of blood. He has a shoulder wound, a leg wound, and a really bad one in his side. He also got really large cuts everywhere. That one on his face, it'll leave a scar that'll probably be more noticeable than Leon's."

Sora's heart sank at the thought of Leon. He worried for Cloud too, of course, but at least they were able to give Cloud help. No one even knew where Leon was or what physical state of being he was in.

"Is anyone looking for him?" he asked.

"Leon? Oh yes, most definitely. That's what most of the town is doing, searching the worlds for him. The only problem is that Restine has his Shadows going all over different worlds to take over and cause destruction, weakening defenses and wielding deadly weapons. You have not seen any in your world yet?"

"No," Sora answered, feeling suddenly worried.

"Well, the Shadows will move there soon. That's why the king left Disney Castle: to find a different world to take refuge because theirs has become overrun with Shadows. They should arrive here shortly."

In a matter of minutes, King Mickey, Donald Duck, and Goofy entered the house, followed closely by Riku, who looked furious.

"Donald! Goofy!" Sora said excitedly, running over to greet his old friends. They all hugged clumsily and then settled down.

"Hello, everyone," Mickey said in forced brightness. "Aerith, Cid, Yuffie, Riku helped get my people into vacant houses in your town to stay in. Is that all right?"

"Of course," Aerith nodded. "Did you have any trouble getting here?"

"Yes, but it was easier to get through the Shadows with Riku on my side." The king looked up at Riku, but he was glaring at Sora and Kairi.

"I saw your ships," he said in a calm, but lethal voice. Sora exchanged nervous glances with Kairi before Riku continued. "I told you not to come."

"Save it, Riku," Kairi said. "We're your friends and we're going to help. You would do the same if it was one of us and I know you would, so spare us the argument and let us fight alongside you."

Riku looked angrily at Sora.

"Why-"

"Riku, just listen to us, okay," Sora cut him off. "This is a war of Darkness in which we both have our places. You have yours, and I have a gut feeling that I have mine, Kairi too. The others have already agreed that we can help, so stop wasting time and let's get busy." Sora pulled out a map of the worlds. "We have a Leon to find."


	4. The Official Leon Rescue Group

King Mickey pointed out the world on Sora's map that Restine resided. He explained to Sora that he had a huge castle that included a myriad of various rooms. He suspected that Leon was probably being held in this castle, most likely because he was a source of information that Restine would like to have.

"Then why is it so hard to find him?" Sora asked.

"Because," Mickey sighed, "it's hard to get into the castle. All of the people that have left to search for Leon are having a hard time penetrating the castle's defenses. Those who have managed to get into the castle are having a difficult time finding Leon without being caught and chased out. No one has gotten hurt trying to find him, but had any of them lingered after getting spotted, they would have been killed."

"Then give me the route to the world," Sora said confidently. "I'll get there, get into the castle, and fight off anything that gets in my way until I find Leon."

"You make it sound so simple. It really isn't, you know."

"Yeah, but I do have the keyblade. C'mon, your majesty, don't you think I can do it?" Sora questioned with a grin.

"Stop acting like this is some silly little adventure!" Riku said angrily. "You're not taking this seriously enough and you're acting like you can take on anything, but there are a lot more challenges in this than you understand."

"Then come with me," Sora said calmly. "If we go in a group, we could probably manage it, right?"

Riku sighed. "If you're going to go, of course I'm going, but I'm seriously contemplating forcing you not to."

"Let's go now then," Kairi said.

"Uh-uh, you're not-"

Kairi glared at him.

"Okay, okay, you can go," Riku nodded grudgingly. "Just…give me a few minutes to get ready."

Riku walked out the front door, slamming it.

"I guess he's a little mad," Goofy said.

"He'll get over it," Sora said. They all sat there thoughtfully for a moment. "Hey, didn't you have a keyblade of your own for a little while in the World That Never Was, Kairi?"

"Yeah, Riku gave it to me," Kairi answered.

"Then why can't you use that now?"

"It wasn't a keyblade like yours," Mickey responded. "Yours is _the_ keyblade. Kairi's was made by Riku and it was only made for temporary use."

"Oh," Sora nodded. "I have another question: when are the Nobodies taking their human form?"

"It should be soon, but you'll know when it happens."

"I will?"

"Both of you," Mickey smiled, looking at Kairi too. "You'll know because your Nobodies will walk out of your bodies."

"You mean, Roxas will get to be a normal person too?" Sora asked excitedly.

"Yep, him and Namine."

"Wow, I can't wait! Now I can actually get to know Roxas a bit more!"

"But wait, what about the members of Organization Thirteen, and the other Nobodies that become real? How will we get to them?" Kairi questioned.

"We'll go to Restine's world."

"But I thought it was hard to-"

"Well, not 'we' as in you, me, or Sora, but as in Roxas, Namine, and Axel."

"Axel!" Sora exclaimed.

"Yes, Axel. I am certain he will take our side, because he is Roxas's best friend, and I believe that he is actually good at heart. Thanks to Cid's research, I know where I'll be able to find him when the time comes. You see, Restine will be expecting many former Nodbodies to come to his castle due to the signal he will be sending out and he will not suspect them, but welcome them. If we send a group of former Nobodies that are on our side, then they will be able to let the other ones know what is going on and persuade them to leave with them to come back here."

"This is great!" Sora said happily. "For a while, I thought I disliked Axel, but after the way he sacrificed himself to help me find Kairi…well, I think my feelings changed."

Riku walked back into the house and looked expectantly at Sora and Kairi.

"Well? Ready to go?" he asked grumpily.

"Riku, are you going to be angry with us this whole journey?" Kairi sighed.

"Probably not, but I'm planning on holding a grudge for as long as I can."

Sora and Kairi both laughed.

"Donald, Goofy, you guys coming with us?" Sora asked, turning to his old fighting partners.

"Of course we are!" Donald exclaimed incredulously. Sora chuckled, then opened the door. He paused before heading outside and turned to look at Yuffie, who had not seemed to move.

"Yuffie, I won't come back here without Leon, okay?" Sora said quietly. "That's a promise." Yuffie lifted her head slightly to look at him and Sora walked outside, Kairi, Riku, Donald, and Goofy following him.

A couple of hours later, what became called the Official Leon Rescue Group landed in a really dark world. Sora lead the others out of his Gummi ship and they all stopped to look up at the castle. It was extremely tall and wide with many towers and turrets. It had a large and high gate that ended in sharp points. Sora frowned, then turned to the others.

"Okay, so how do we get in?" he asked.

"We go through the underground tunnel that the other rescuers already built," Riku answered.

"And where are the ones that are supposed to be here now?"

"They left here when we left Radiant Garden. The king contacted them and explained to them that we were on our way."

"Do you know where this tunnel is?"

"Obviously."

Riku walked away and the others followed him around to another side of the castle. The group ended up stopping right at-

"A blank patch of dirt?" Donald asked skeptically. He looked around at the blank stretch of ground that surrounded him with confusion. Riku sighed wearily and lifted up a door that blended in with the earth around it.

"There's a ladder down there, but it's dark, so be careful," he said, nodding his head at the tunnel under the door. Sora lowered himself in first, his foot finding a ladder rung, and he slowly began to climb down. Kairi was above him, then Donald, then Goofy, then Riku went last, letting the door fall shut and surrounding them in total darkness.

"Ow! Kairi, you kicked me in the mouth!" Sora exclaimed.

"Sorry," Kairi answered apologetically.

"How much farther down, Riku?"

"Just a bit, but keep quiet," Riku called down softly.

After a little under ten minutes, Sora's feet made contact with the ground. He reached for Kairi's hand and helped her down. Sora waited for the others to be off the ladder before going on. He looked at the dark figure that he guessed was Riku and said, "Do we just go straight from here?"

"Yes," Riku answered, walking ahead of the group. "There are no turns and the tunnel is narrow, so you can't get lost. Just follow me and-"

"OW! Goofy!" Donald exclaimed furiously.

"-stay quiet!" Riku growled through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, Donald," Goofy apologized. "Didn't realize I was stepping on your toe and not a rock."

After another twenty minutes, Riku whispered for them to stop. He felt around until he found another ladder and commenced to climb it.

"Climb up after me and I'll open the door," he whispered. "And once we're out of the tunnel, no talking at all. We need to remain undetected as long as we possibly can."

Riku continued to climb and the rest of the group followed him up. After about three minutes, a light appeared at the top and, while it blinded the others at first, it made it easier for them to see as they persisted to climb. Sora saw Riku standing above him, holding up another trap door. He was not looking down into the tunnel, however, but around the room he was in. He appeared to be making sure that there were no enemies around.

Sora climbed out of the hole and pushed himself onto the floor. He straightened up and gazed around him. The room was circular with a hard stone floor. It was dim, lit only with lanterns that held blue flames and hung from the stone walls, looking eerie. It was not like the tunnel though. In this room, you could see clearly enough, whereas in the tunnel it was pitch black. The only objects in the room were a furnace that sat to Sora's left with a shovel and a small pile of coal next to it; an old wooden table with a few rickety chairs around it in the back of the room; and a wooden cupboard that held many chips and dents and was missing a handle.

Riku slowly shut the trap door after everyone was in. Like the one outside of the castle, it blended in wonderfully with its surroundings. On the other side of the room was a wooden door and that is where Riku motioned for the others to head. Donald got there first and made to pull it open, but nothing happened.

"It's locked," Donald mouthed, looking at Sora excpectantly. Sora looked at him, puzzled, then at the others, who were all watching him with impatient expressions as well. He scratched his head in confusion and then the keyblade appeared in his hand. He looked at it, then at the door, and suddenly felt stupid. He grinned sheepishly at the others and pointed the keyblade at the door's keyhole. A beam of light was cast into the hole and the door unlocked with a click. Donald opened it, shaking his head while Sora followed him, resisting the urge to kick the temperamental duck.

The Official Leon Rescue Group found themselves in a hall with similar stone walls, floor, and blue-flamed lanterns. Riku beckoned at his friends to go to the left and they did so. At the end of the hallway was a staircase to their left that went up, and a staircase to their right that went down. Riku nodded his head at the one on the right and they immediately descended. After a couple of minutes, they arrived at the bottom of the stairs and into another similar hallway. This time, they could either go straight, left, or right. Riku looked pensive for a moment before nodding to the left corridor.

It was quite a long one, Sora realized. He strained his eyes to look as far ahead as they could. All he could see was the hallway continuing monotonously. All of a sudden, Sora felt a hot blaze of pain in his arm. He let out a cry of agony and fell to the floor. Kairi rushed over to him concernedly and Riku pulled him up by the sleeve of his good arm and tugged him away while running, looking over his shoulder warily.

"C'mon, go!" Riku commanded to the group. They ran as quickly as they could down the hallway, being chased by the same Shadow creatures that Sora had seen in Radiant Garden. They were carrying large, strange guns and shooting blue beams from them. "Stay low!" yelled Riku. The group began to run doubled over. It was a good thing too because had he not ducked, one of the beams would have struck Goofy in the back of the head.

Riku had them stop at the end of the hallway, where there was another door. He pulled out his keyblade and the others followed his lead in bringing out their own weapons. Sora made his keyblade materialize too, trying to ignore the pain in his bleeding arm and prepare to fight the charging Shadows. Sora made himself go into Drive mode under Wisdom form and felt the aching in his arm vanish as his health was restored. He pointed the keyblade at the Shadows and began to shoot the balls of light that were emitted from it at the Shadows. Most of them died before reaching the Official Leon Rescue Group, but about seven of them made it and attacked the friends at close range. Donald and Kairi both started casting thunder spells as Sora and Riku fought up close with their keyblades. Goofy used his shield to run around the group and block enemy blows for everyone. They thought that all of the Shadows were dead, but then noticed one that was fleeing away from them.

"We have to kill it or it'll report back to Restine that we're here!" Riku said urgently. The group looked around in panic. The shadow was fast and would be too hard to chase, and Sora's Drive gauge was empty, so he couldn't use his shooting abilities that Wisdom form offered him. He began casting fire spells at the Shadow, while Donald cast Blizzard, and Kairi cast Magnet, but the Shadow was too far away.

"Ahh, we'll have to chase it!" Sora growled angrily and the group began to sprint after the Shadow as quickly as they could. They all stopped in confusion, however, as something whizzed past them through the air and sliced through the Shadow, causing it to disappear. Goofy had stopped a few feet behind the others and now stood with his hand held up in the air. The thing that had caused the Shadow's death drifted back towards Goofy and Sora realized it was his shield. Goofy caught it and chuckled at the expressions on the others' faces.

The Official Leon Rescue Group continued to walk back to the door they had stopped by to fight the Shadows. Riku watched Sora thoughtfully.

"How's your arm?" he asked.

"It's okay now," Sora responded. "Whenever I go into Drive mode, I'm automatically healed, you know."

"Yeah, but do you see what I mean by how much more dangerous this is now? Had that laser hit you somewhere else, you might not have been killed on the spot, or might not have had the strength to go into Drive, or cast Cure on yourself."

Sora looked at his friend in curiosity. "What do you think's gonna happen to me?"

"I don't know, but I don't want it to, whatever it is."

"Nothing will. I'll be fine."

"You don't know that," Riku argued stubbornly.

"You're only a year older than me. I can take care of myself," snapped Sora.

"Yeah, I can see that," commented Riku sardonically.

"Shut up," Sora groaned.

Sora unlocked the door once they got to it and looked at Riku before opening it.

"Has anyone gotten this far yet?" he asked.

"Nope," Riku said quietly. "And I have a feeling that on the other side of this door, we will find ourselves closer to reaching our destination." He smirked and Sora grinned as well before opening the door.


	5. Alive andNot So Well

On the other side of the door was another similar hallway. Whether they went left or right, the O.L.R.G. would curve inwards. Sora wondered if the hall just went in a circle and if they would meet a dead end.

"Which way?" Kairi asked in barely more than a whisper. Riku frowned. He had received his directions from a man that had only made it as far as the corridor they had just been in before being chased away. The rest of the way would have to be guesswork.

Not wanting to make the others nervous, Riku jerked his head to the right. The group went that way, keeping silent, and watched all passing doors. They were labeled, making it easier for the O.L.R.G to figure out where Leon wasn't.

After traveling down the curving hallway, they spotted a door that was labeled "Dungeon Entrance". Donald tried in acquiesce to see if the door was unlocked, then looked at Sora, who was quicker on the uptake this time, and unlocked the door.

Five Shadow guards attacked the O.L.R.G. as soon as they entered. These Shadows were bigger and burlier than the ones Sora had seen before and they wielded long scythes that blasted dark spheres crackling with electricity.

Despite being so large, these Shadows maneuvered extremely quickly. The one that Sora was fighting swung its scythe rapidly, blasting spheres in between swings. Sora's arms grew tired from blocking nonstop blows in seconds. He felt a little panicked, not sure how much longer he could do this as his arms grew heavier and heavier.

He had an idea.

Sora waited for the Shadow to blast another sphere at him. This time, Sora did not just block it, but he aimed and sent it back at the Shadow. The Shadow was only knocked off balance for a second, but that had given Sora enough time. He pointed his Keyblade at the staggering Shadow and said, "Stop!" The spell froze the Shadow and Sora took a few open whacks at it until it exploded into dust.

Looking around, Sora could see that the rest of his friends were having the same problem he had had... He cast the Stop spell on all of the other Shadows for them and they killed them easily. The magic in his body almost completely gone now, Sora pulled an Ether out of his bag and drank it, restoring his magic supply completely.

"Now what?" Goofy asked. The others, breathing heavily from the fight, looked around.

The room was cylinder shaped, also a good deal colder than the rest of the castle. Kairi had her hands held around her arms. Sora wrapped his own arms around hers and rubbed them comfortingly. She looked up and smiled at him, making him feel like the luckiest guy ever.

"Oh, look, guys," Riku said in mock excitement, "more stairs."

Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy all looked where Riku's eyes were to see a dark staircase descending from directly opposite to the door they had come in through. It looked really dark and made the hairs on the back of Sora's neck stand up.

"Well, let's go then," Donald said with an audible quiver of fear. Goofy gulped.

The O.L.R.G. descended the stairs slowly and quietly, weapons raised, ready for anything. It grew colder the further down they went. The chilly temperature made Sora's worry for Leon grow. What if they found Leon dead from exposure?

Sora pushed the thought away. That would not happen, he told himself.

Once closer to the bottom of the staircase, the group heard echoing voices. They all looked at each other and silently agreed that it was urgent for them to stay quiet. At the end of the stairs, there was a stone corridor darker than any of the ones they had been in upstairs.

Noiselessly, the O.L.R.G. made their way down the corridor, passing empty cells. The voices grew louder, but their echoing made it hard to comprehend.

The group stopped at the end of the corridor and pressed themselves against the wall. The voices were right around the corner.

"Listen, jerk, we've been doing this for how many days now? Why not just tell us what we want to know, and we'll let you go?" an unfamiliar man's voice said.

"You guys…can go screw each other," Leon's voice muttered.

There was a sound of a person being hit, followed by a grunt of pain.

"Man," a new man's voice said frustrated, "just answer a few questions and we'll let you out of here! It's like taking a fucking survey, except shorter!"

"I'm…not…a traitor," Leon said both hoarsely and angrily.

Another sound of someone being hit, but this time with a thud of a person hitting the wall after it, then a low groan. Sora made to charge around the corner, but Riku caught his arm and held up a finger to say to wait.

"This ain't over," the first man's voice said. "We'll be back later. And again and again after that until you tell us what we want to know. Oh, and don't worry, because we _will_ make sure to keep you alive until you give us our information, even if it's just barely…"

There were footsteps that faded away, along with the sound of a door being shut shortly after, then silence.

Sora ran around the corner, the others hot on his heels. He was not prepared for what he saw next.

In the first cell on the right, was Leon, but in such bad shape that Sora hardly recognized him. He had no shirt and his black jeans were torn and contained many large holes. Gashes, scrapes, and bruises covered his body and fresh blood leaked from his head and nose. He had lost a lot of weight, his ribs sticking out, and his skin was extremely pale. He was half laying, half sitting against the stone wall behind him, his body shivering violently. His eyes were shut and he began to cough heavily.

"Leon!" Donald exclaimed. Leon opened his eyes and struggled to sit up, coughing harder. He turned his head to the side and spat out blood.

Looking up at them when he was done hacking, Leon gave a weak smile and said feebly, "Hey, guys."


	6. The Great Escape

Sora immediately pointed his Keyblade at the cell's lock and pushed its door open, rushing inside the cold cell to grab the slumped Leon by the bloody shoulders.

"Leon!" he said, shaking the man slightly and promptly being snapped at to shut up by Riku. Leon's eyes were only half open, but he seemed to be trying hard to focus on Sora, who pointed the Keyblade at Leon and firmly commanded, "Cure!" To his dismay, however, nothing happened. Leon was still bloody, bruised, and on the border of unconsciousness, his body shaking uncontrollably. From cold? From hunger? Thirst? Fatigue? Maybe even anger? There could be a lot of reasons for that besides the fact that his body was below normal temperature. Sora looked at Riku in fearful askance.

"Your magic isn't gonna be good enough for damage this severe," Riku said moodily. "Even Merlin's magic isn't powerful enough to heal the body at this level. He did the best he could with Cloud, but at best, it just helped stop the bleeding."

"Cloud," Leon muttered, lifting his head at the name of his comrade. "Is he…okay?"

Sora and Riku looked at each other before turning back to Leon.

"Well, he's doing better than you," Goofy answered sadly.

Leon nodded. "Well that's…good," he said hoarsely. He then looked beyond the others at the cell bars. "They're…gonna be back soon."

The others understood what he meant: the men that had been torturing Leon would soon be back and they needed to leave now.

"All right," Riku said, "any reviving of any sort we do is going to have to wait, but we can't be too slow. I wanted to at least cast a Fire spell to get Leon's temperature up, but I really don't think we have time at the moment. Goofy, can you carry Leon with you behind your shield?"

"Sure thing, Riku," Goofy replied, putting his hand to his forehead in a salute and looking determined.

While the others guarded the cell, Goofy lifted up Leon from under the arms and tried to interlock Leon's with his own arms at the elbows, then held up his shield in front of Leon, who was at least able to keep himself relatively upright, whether by actually putting a little weight on his feet or dragging them. He was strong even in his weakest state.

The group filed out of the cell in a certain procession so that Goofy and Leon would be able to mobilize without being attacked. Sora and Donald went in front of everyone, Goofy supporting Leon went in the middle, and Riku and Kairi followed at the end, the idea being that there was a balance of fighting skills at both front and back. Sora and Riku had the most powerful weapons and skills, while both Kairi and Donald wielded just magic.

The group made their way back out of the dungeon, Sora looking around at the other cells with a frown. There were a few other prisoners too…could they not set the rest free? He looked over his shoulder at Riku who, as if reading his mind, nodded at him to keep moving. Sora did so, but felt guilty as they 

reached the top of the staircase and were on their way out of the cylinder-shaped room. He was surprised upon opening the door on the other side that they had still managed to be undetected.

They continued through the halls of the castle, looking around warily, waiting for enemies to appear at any moment and attack. They made it all the way back to the room that had the trap door, however, without any type of onslaught. Sora was grateful but found this ominous all the same. Would one of the guards not notice that their prisoner with the most information of use to them was missing?

"Okay, Sora," Riku whispered as he opened the trap door in the floor, "you go down first and wait at the bottom of the ladder. Then Goofy climb down with Leon, and Sora, you help them off the ladder. Use a Fire spell so we can see better; just be quiet about it. I have a feeling that sooner or later someone will find out about our little tunnel and infiltrate it. After Goofy and Leon, Kairi, you go, then you, Donald, then me."

Everyone nodded silently and made their procession down the ladder as Riku had advised. Once Sora's feet found the solid ground below him, he whispered, "Fire," and held the Keyblade in one hand like a lit torch, first looking around the tunnel to make sure no one was approaching that should not be, then looking back up at the ladder. Goofy climbed down, awkwardly supporting Leon. Once they were close to the bottom, Sora whispered, "I've got him," and slowly helped Leon out of Goofy's arms. Leon groaned, seeming to be only half conscious. Sora gently sat him on the ground against the tunnel's wall and stood in front of him in protection, checking the surroundings again for enemies.

Goofy hopped down from the ladder, followed by Kairi, Donald, and Riku. Once they were all in the tunnel again, they resumed the same formation as they had journeyed back to the trap door in, except this time, Sora holding up a lit Keyblade in the front and Kairi lifting her lit sword at the back.

After walking through the tunnel for a few minutes, Riku and Kairi both froze and simultaneously hissed, "Don't move!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all looked over their shoulders, and Sora felt a touch of fear as he watched Riku and Kairi turn in the opposite direction, listening stilly.

"What is it?" Donald asked quietly.

"I heard a thud," Kairi whispered.

"Yeah, me too," Riku said concernedly.

They all stood there silently for a moment, staring at the darkness behind them, waiting for something to happen.

"I'm gonna go check it out," Kairi said quietly, holding up her lit sword and walking forward. Riku started to protest but she was beyond their sight before he could say anything more. Goofy took Leon closer to Riku and Sora and Donald followed suit. They all stood there, watching the darkness, listening for any sounds of a struggle.

"Kairi shouldn't have done that," Riku growled. "We came here to save one person, not lose another."

"She's something," Sora said proudly. "I'm sure she'll be fine. We've helped her improve her fighting skills a lot since returning to Destiny Islands. And while this may sound bad, and I would never want this to happen, it's better to send her than you. If you got kidnapped…well, everything's kind of up to you, Riku. You know?"

Riku glared at him. "Don't talk about sacrificing your girlfriend like she was a farm animal," he hissed.

"I'm not!" Sora protested. "I love Kairi! I just meant that she's strong enough to handle it and that it would be better for everyone in all the worlds to…to lose her in-instead of y-you…" Sora sniffled, and realized with embarrassment that he was crying. He wiped at his eyes with his sleeves, hating what he was saying but knowing it was true. If something bad happened to Kairi, there was still no reason that Reston and his plans could not be foiled, but if something happened to Riku…Reston would win, and all the worlds would be at an end. And while Sora would rather torture and kill himself before letting anything bad happen to Kairi, he understood her and knew that she was willing to risk and sacrifice herself for the rest of the worlds.

Riku stared at him, understanding what he was saying and the pain that it made Sora feel. He sighed and shook his head.

"This," he muttered, "is why I didn't want you guys to come. I don't want to see either of you get hurt, and I don't want either of you to have to see each other get hurt."

"Riku, Destiny Islands will be attacked eventually anyway from the sound of it. At least this way, Kairi and I feel like we're doing something about it, rather than sitting at home all happy and then being taken by surprised and attacked. And we're all doing this together, Riku! There's strength in numbers, especially with your friends. We're in this together, and we don't want you going at it alone."

Riku looked at Sora, feeling pained, not wanting the help but loving his friends for giving it to him anyway. He just hoped that they would not have to suffer for it…

The group stood there in the dark for another moment before deciding to make their way back to the ladder to find out what had happened. They were all nervous, as there had not been any noise or commotion that they had heard, and Kairi had not yet returned.

Upon reaching the bottom of the ladder, the group looked around the base of it to find nothing that could tell them anything. Sora pointed the Keyblade upwards and shined the light as high as it would reach, then brought it back down, shrugging at the others.

"Wait a minute," Riku said quietly as he took a hold of the Keyblade and guided its light along the ladder. He stopped it on a broken rung. "None of these rungs were broken when I climbed down, and I was the last of us to go. I think this is the source of the thump that Kairi and I heard. Someone must have been climbing down and then when the rung broke, they fell. It's only a couple feet off the ground, but the surprise of it would ruin their landing and make a little noise."

"What do we do about Kairi?" Donald asked.

"Well, I'm thinking we should all go back up and look for her. I'm getting kind of ner-"

The trap door way above opened before Riku could finish his sentence. The group jumped away from the ladder, Goofy covering Leon's mouth as he yanked him away. They had their weapons raised and ready, but lowered them when they heard Kairi's voice say, "Wind!" in a harried way. She floated back to the bottom of the stairs in a small whirlwind and landed lightly on her feet.

"Why-" Sora began only to be cut off.

"We need to leave, _now_," Kairi said, not bothering to stay quiet anymore. Without another word, she pulled Leon off the ground with surprising strength, handed him to Goofy as if he were a rag doll, and pushed Goofy in the direction of the opposite side of the tunnel before scooping up the short Donald and pulling at Sora and Riku's sleeves. "Come _on_!"

Kairi had them all jogging awkwardly through the tunnel; Goofy had picked up Leon completely and was now carrying him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Kairi, what's going on?" Sora asked.

"One of the guards from the dungeons had followed us down here and had gone back up the ladder when he saw me coming. I chased after him but I couldn't stop him. I think he was trying to figure out where we were going and was planning to sneak up on us, but when that ladder rung broke, he knew he'd been discovered and high-tailed it out of here. I'm pretty sure there are going to be people after us soon," Kairi explained breathlessly as they ran through the tunnel.

They had made it all the way to the exit ladder without problems when there was a sound of some kind of shots being fired and hitting the tunnel walls around them. Everyone ducked down and watched as about sixteen armored men came charging at them firing red beams of light from hefty guns on their shoulders.

"We've got to get out of here!" Sora yelled.

"Goofy!" Riku barked as he used his Dark Aura attack to fire spheres of darkness at the armed men. "Get Leon up there now!" Goofy began to quickly and clumsily climb up the ladder as shots were fired around him. The rest of the group fended them off for the most part, but it was unlikely they would be able to defeat the men in a short span of time and it was urgent for them to leave the world quickly. "Sora, Kairi, Donald! Target them, climb, and as you're climbing cast Thunder spells. None of us have enough magic to use Stop right now and there's no time for ethers!"

Sora, Kairi, and Donald hastily did as Riku advised, knowing they could not afford to linger in this tunnel. They climbed quickly, yelling "Thunder!" at intervals, trying to ignore the shots that struck very close to them. Riku, however, used his dark magic to create a sphere of darkness around each of them. It would not last long, but it would be enough. Riku climbed up after them, firing at the men as he climbed. The men ran over to the ladder in their pursuit, but Riku used his Keyblade to cut off the rest of the ladder from beneath his feet. He did this continuously until they reached the trap door, and he was pulled 

through it by his friends while more shots whistled past his ears. He was sitting on the ground, panting, before jumping to his feet and running over to their Gummi ship, the others hot on his heels. He glanced over his shoulder to see more armed men and Shadows coming swiftly through the castle's main entrance to chase after them. Riku ran up the ramp of the Gummi ship, opened the door, and stepped aside to let the rest of the group race in. He ducked under the now closing door himself, narrowly avoiding a hit by another red beam of light.

Sora started the engine of the ship and they took off into space with a blast, Riku watching the swarm of enemies on the ground below from out the cockpit window.

He wanted to feel relief and tell himself they were safe, but he knew better.

Their escape was far from over yet…


End file.
